Palestinians stage protests against Mideast peace conference

Hundreds of Palestinians are protesting throughout the West Bank against this week’s economic conference in Bahrain that will kick off the Trump administration’s plan for Mideast peace.

Palestinians on Monday poured into streets of West Bank cities, from Hebron to Nablus, many burning effigies of President Donald Trump and Bahrain’s king. Some carried a giant coffin labeled “Bahrain conference” and signs reading “The Deal of the Century is doomed.”

Dozens of youths in the southern city of Halhul set tires ablaze and hurled stones at Israeli soldiers, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.

Palestinians have rejected the U.S. proposal, saying an economic plan can’t pre-empt a political settlement.

Meanwhile, multiple fires erupted across Israel’s southern farmlands, which local officials blamed on incendiary balloons launched from the Gaza Strip.